Never have I realized how important life and work balance is than this month. After my father passed, I mourned a father and a best friend. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of the most challenging things to overcome. However, life does not wait for you to be ready, and it can throw...
Each year, the federal government celebrates small business. There are awards, speeches, seminars, and luncheons for the men and women who risk it all to innovate, employ, and serve the US economy. This year’s Small Business Week — May 20-26 — is more of the same.
More and more case studies are being published on how online video content marketing is driving action to improve conversion across all points of the sales cycle, from getting found on search engines to providing information on what distances your company from the competition and closing the sale...
Anyone with a website feels the need to improve their rankings. The idea is simple: the more people that find you, the more likely you will get leads and generate sales. We need to know that our internet investment and efforts are paying off.
In the investment world, behavioral finance is a hot field. I consider the teachings of behavioral finance an invaluable tool in my financial advisory work with clients. The concepts have also helped me tremendously in the operation and growth of my own business, Gerstein Fisher, over the last 20...
I know plenty of business owners who have wildly profitable businesses who have told me that they overpay their people so that they don’t have to worry about turnover. For most of them, that seems to be working. But my guess is they probably have good cultures, too.
Recently I attended Doing Business in Emerging Markets, produced by HSBC. Most people are familiar with the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) which, several years ago, was the group of countries that were identified to have the strongest growth, and in fact, did. The new group of developing...
I can picture Blaise Graziano, the founder of Circus-Man Ice Cream, in his first truck which was undoubtedly cooled by ice and not modern refrigeration units, trawling the neighborhoods in Long Island. He started with 400 bucks and a small truck and built the organization into a very well-known...
“SIRI, where can I find organic mushrooms?” You’ve all seen the commercials for SIRI and are aware that smartphones are getting smarter. They perform on command and search for our answers. I’m just waiting for them to actually run my errands.
Being a salesperson can be a very exciting job. You get to meet lots of different people and personalities, many of whom give you support and hope and eventually become close friends. On the other hand, being a salesperson can be very challenging and boring. You can be out on the street all week...
Spring is often when we start making plans for summer vacation. I find that many clients find themselves visiting the same place, same house, same street, year after year. Although I do see the appeal in this trend, as it can be familiar and comforting, it often stands in the way of the...
The Small Business Administration’s New York district office recently honored nine New York entrepreneurs and business owners for their outstanding contributions to the small business community. The presentation of the Small Business Week Awards officially kicked off New York City’s National Small...
Recently, the Manta SMB Wellness Index found that many small business owners said they were planning to hire at this time last year, but the most of them (80 percent) have not. The survey also found that 45 percent do not plan to hire additional workers this year while one-third say it's too early...
With so many great options on the marketing landscape, there’s never been a better time to market a product or service.
Does it ring a bell, strike a cord, elicit a response like “Tell me more!” or “Ah ha! Just what I need!”? Your tag line and elevator pitch is a critical component to any branding program for your company and a necessary ingredient to a first meeting or first impression. So first, let’s take...
Networking has long been described as the number one way to get ahead; to increase sales, to find investors, and yes, even to find a job or new employees. We’ve all overheard people ask “How did you get that lead?” or “How did you hear about that opportunity?” And we’ve all heard people answer, “Oh...
If your business is incorporated, you can take a salary for the work that you do. Obviously, your company’s revenues are a big part of the decision on how much you can afford to take out of its coffers as compensation. Taxes are another important factor. C or S?
Small business loan approvals by big banks (more than $10 billion in assets) dropped to 10.9 percent in March, down from 11.7 percent in February. This number represents a 6.8 percent decline over a one-month period and from the 11.6 percent approval rate one year ago.
Note: I have been called Chicken Little, but having dealt with floods, steam pipes bursting, bugs, theft, and records being destroyed or discarded, sometimes it is worth listening to Chicken Little!
(Warning! This is a rant, and it has to do with the new burdens to small business marketing.)
Follow NY Report